


Tower of Messiah

by Sabi (shugocharaluver)



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: A Little Bloody, F/M, Gen, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22489372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shugocharaluver/pseuds/Sabi
Summary: After waging war with the gods, the world was punished heavily, their overseers sealing all the elements of the world into the Tower of Salvation, setting the world on the path to destruction. Providing the humans with one final chance, the gods would select a Messiah every 10 years, to represent the world and prove their worth to continue on living. Our story begins with Honda Tohru, a small seamstress in the Village of the Forgotten, who has just been summoned to meet the oracle...(Vocaloid Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI AU)
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5
Collections: Fruits Basket Big Bang 2020





	Tower of Messiah

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Sabi here, with a Fruits Basket fic for the Fruits Basket Big Bang! I'm still not really used to writing anything but romance (and I've never written for Furuba either), but I tried my best to complete this. 
> 
> The artist who collabed with me this time is [Gaby!](https://twitter.com/Gabiimona) PLease check out their art [here!](https://twitter.com/Gabiimona/status/1223124371549478912)
> 
> I hope you enjoy the fic! Please leave a comment if you do :)

“Tohru!” Momiji called out to the seamstress as he bounded up the stairs to Tohru’s room. He continued bouncing around as he waited for Tohru to reply, seemingly more excited than his already normally hyperactive self.

“Momiji-kun! Good morning, did something happen?” Tohru asked, setting aside the dress Hanajima had asked her to repair. Momiji then ran up to her, grabbing her hands as he continued jumping about, causing Tohru’s arms to shake along with him.

“The oracle is here! They said to gather everyone at the village square to hear the prophecy. Looks like it’s going to be someone from our village this time!”

“Oh!” Tohru gasped, slight awe etched on her face. Having the oracle appear at the village was an event that occurred only once every few decades, for the announcement of the next Messiah. She briskly walked out of her room and down the corridor where her housemates rooms were. “I’ll go and get Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun and Shigure-san. Please go ahead, we’ll meet you there.”

After having woken up the others (which took a while, it was still before sunrise after all), the small group quickly made their way to the village square. Most of the townsfolk had already gathered there, and were crowding around four men standing at the base of the fountain there.

While three of the men were wearing more dull coloured plain robes, one stood out with his white robes and gold trimmings. It wasn’t hard to tell the oracle apart from everyone else. His calming presence naturally commanded everyone’s attention.

The man standing closest to the oracle coughed loudly to signal the start of the prophecy reading.

“The gods have announced the next Messiah!” His voice rang throughout the plaza, causing hushed whispers to erupt throughout the square. It was considered a great honor to be chosen as the Messiah, for they would go on a grand journey to save the world. It was said that the Messiahs who completed their quest would even become gods themselves.

“Honda Tohru!” 

Tohru’s eyes widened as she heard her name called out by the oracle, heart pounding. Did she hear right? Her, the next Messiah?

“Honda Tohru? Is Honda Tohru here?”

“Hey, they’re calling you,” Kyo whispered as he nudged her slightly, shaking her out of her stupor.

“Huh? Oh, yes! I’m Tohru!” She raised her arm, hurrying to the front. The oracle continued explaining to her all about her duty while one of his travel companions opened a small parchment paper with details of the task she had to fulfill.

“You are to set off for the Tower of Salvation at dawn tomorrow. There, you will ascend the tower, collecting the nine blessings scattered throughout it, before lighting the altar at the very top. Once you have done that, the gods will deem humanity worthy of their blessings for the next decade. Do you accept this task?”

“With the gods’ blessings, I humbly accept this task.” Tohru bowed to the oracle, gently receiving the parchment before bowing once again and turning to head back towards her friends.

However, she was barely able to step an inch forward before the entire village surrounded her, showering her with their praise and congratulations. It was a full hour before the crowd finally dispersed, leaving behind a very muddled Tohru, holding the parchment paper close to her so as to not drop it in the previous confusion.

“Sheesh, the others really need to calm down.” Kyo groaned, walking up to Tohru.

“Are you alright, Honda-san?” Yuki was clearly concerned as he looked at her with furrowed eyebrows and a slight frown. He scanned her to make sure she wasn’t hurt in any way.

“I’m alright, Yuki-kun,” Tohru replied slowly, still a little out of it from the crowd rush earlier. However she quickly snapped herself out of it as she saw the sun starting to set, eyes widening as she started to panic. “I need to prepare my things! I only have a few hours left. Oh, but there’s dinner and breakfast to prepare, as well as the meals for when I’m gone, and…”

“Tohru-kun, wait,” Shigure grabbed a hold of her shoulder, keeping her in place. “You don’t have to prepare our food, we won’t need it.”

“Eh?” Her expression showed confusion. “But what will all of you do about meals?”

“What he means to say is, we’ll be accompanying you to the tower.” Another voice spoke up, walking towards them. The voice belonged to Hatori who was also accompanied by Hatsuharu and Momiji. Realising what her friends were saying, she let out a loud scream (or as loud as Honda Tohru ever could be, at any rate), pacing around them as she started to speak.

“What?! I can’t have all of you following me just for this. You all have your own things to accomplish!” Tohru cried, listing off the sheep that needed tending to, the bread that needed to be baked; basically everything else that she believed her friends should be doing. She did not want to squander away all their hard work and time just to accompany her on this trip.

“Aww, but I want to go with you, Tohru!” whined Momiji, pouting.

“I-I’m very flattered, Momiji-kun, but… but…”

“None of us mind, so it’s ok, right?” Hatsuharu spoke up, his question sounding more like a statement than anything.

“...Yes,” Tohru relented, twiddling her thumbs together. She knew there wasn’t much she could do to convince her friends against the idea after they insisted so. Despite that, she looked up anxiously at her friends, voicing her concerns once more. “Are you absolutely sure all of you are fine with doing so?”

“We’ve already said we’re going, so we’re going.”

“Aww, Kyo’s worried about Tohru-kun~!”

“Wha- Shigure! Shut up, you stupid dog!”

“...Well, let’s do our best, Honda-san!”

“Yes!” She replied happily, ignoring the small incident happening behind them. “Oh, but I do have a lot of things to prepare! Excuse me, I’ll be rushing back first!”

Tohru waved a quick farewell, hurrying back home to gather her things, muttering to herself as she rattled off all the things she needed to remember for the trip.

After Tohru had rushed off, Shigure and Hatori gathered everyone that said they would accompany Tohru at Hatori’s house. Taking a quick glance around, Shigure ensured that they were all present before he began going through the details of the plan they had.

_They couldn’t leave her alone, after all._

~~~

Dawn soon came, and Tohru was waiting by the village entrance for her friends. After she finished her packing the day before, all her friends who were joining her for the trial came to check up on her. They had light conversation while making sure she was fine and ready for what was ahead. Among them were Yuki, Kyo, Uotani, Hanajima, Hatsuharu, Momiji, Hatori, Shigure and Ayame. Despite what she had told them, she was relieved they would all be coming along with her. She had never been out of the village before, so she had been worried about making her way to the tower properly. She got up as she noticed her friends had arrived, looking back at the village one last time before setting off their journey.

“Are you sure it’s all right, everyone? Everyone else in the village will be worried, especially you Hatori-san! You’re the village chief! And-And-” Tohru continued panicking, not wanting all of her friends to give up precious time to accompany her on her journey. They had already reassured her of their decision, but she could not hold back the gnawing feeling that they should not be following her on this journey.

“Everything is fine, Tohru-kun,” Hanajima called out from behind, offering a gentle smile as she placed a comforting hand on the seamstress’ shoulder.

“Yep, just calm down for a second, will ya?” Uotani joined in, slinging both her arms around the other girls.

“It’s just...I already owe so much to all of you, for finding me in the forest and taking me in, teaching me how to make a living and-”

“Shut up! What is this a farewell speech?” Kyo spat out, immediately regretting his words as Tohru looked down, apologetic.

“I’m sorry,” she quietly murmured, slowing her pace.

“Ah, that’s-” Kyo started speaking again, but was stopped by a punch to the face, sending him flying several feet away.

Yuki shook his wrist, rubbing it as he gave Tohru a winning smile before speaking.

“Don’t worry, Honda-san. I assure you, we’re here because we want to be. You’re never a bother.”

“That’s right! Kyo is just being shy again,” Shigure smirked, “He was the one panicking the most when he heard you were going to be the new Messiah after all~”

“Ah- stupid Shigure, don’t!” Kyo yelled out halfway, but was unable to keep Tohru from hearing what the older man said. 

Tohru’s gaze turned to meet his, face slightly red.

“Thank you, Kyo-kun,” she spoke gently with a smile, causing Kyo to turn a shade of red ten times brighter than his bright orange hair.

“L-let’s get a move on already!” Kyo sputtered, walking ahead of the group. Tohru nodded, running to match up to his pace before stopping to walk beside him, 

The others watched them from their spots behind the duo, preventing the couple from seeing the bittersweet smiles they were being given.

The sun was setting in the horizon, painting the path ahead in a glow of red.

~~~

The group stared in awe at the tower before them, mouths agape. The tower was a massive structure, the top of the tower practically touching the clouds. The sun shone brightly along its walls, illuminating the picture of the gods that was carved along the outside. Despite the fact that they were slightly rusted from age, the carvings somehow looked almost brand new, as if protected by a magic spell.

“It’s so big!” Momoji yelled excitedly, moving closer to trace the carvings with his fingertips.

“Be careful,” Hatsuharu warned, grabbing a hold of Momiji’s wrist right before the blonde’s fingers made contact with the marble, “We don’t know if any traps have been set to keep others except the Messiah out.”

“Oh, you’re right,” Momoji admits, smiling as his cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment.

“Speaking of, where’s the door?” Shigure points out, and the group of friends circle the large tower. He was right; there seemed to be no way for them to get in, meeting face-to-face with more carvings regardless of which part of the tower they looked at.

“Maybe the Messiah can create a door?” Yuki suggested, “This is supposed to be her journey, after all.” Yuki turns to face Tohru, gesturing towards her bag. “Did you receive a key or something like that?”

“No,” Tohru shook her head, appearing just as confused as her friends. She slowly circled around the perimeter of the tower, focusing all her attention on the marble in front of her. About halfway round, she noticed something peculiar about the lines on the wall. They seem to appear thicker and deeper, and there seemed to be a slight dent…? She hesitantly placed her palm gently on the spot she had noticed, using slightly more force after confirming that no trap had been activated.

As she did so, the others leapt back as the floor beneath them shook. They watched in amazement as out from the ground shot a small, rectangular structure. There was a gap facing them, with what seemed to be a stairway that connected itself to the first part of the building that they saw.

“We found the entrance!” She told the others happily, not paying too much attention to her friend’s’ surprise.

“Y-yeah...” Kyo replied her, snapping out of it slightly.

“L-let’s go in, shall we?” 

And with Yuki’s words, the ten children stepped food into the tower, their figures covered by the darkness of the entrance.

~~~

Tohru had always been a patient girl. She never whined when she had to wait her turn to play, never demanded anything be given to her, never rejected any food she was given.

Nevertheless, even Tohru had to admit that she was getting rather tired and restless as the group continued up the stairway. She had no way of estimating the time within the dark stairwell, but judging from the growl of Kyo’s stomach she knew that they had been at it for almost five hours by now.

As if hearing her thoughts, Kyo let out an exasperated scream.

“Just how many steps are there?! We’ve been walking for decades now!”

“Calm down Kyo, it’s only been a few hours.” Shigure waves off the boy’s outburst, too used to his antics by now.

This however, only seemed to further aggravate Kyo (as expected, Shigure always seemed to push his buttons after all), causing the redhead to scream again. “What do you mean only?! That’s a pretty darn long time to be climbing up a bunch of stairs!”

“You can go home then,” Yuki immediately retorts, looking about ready to punch Kyo through the concrete. 

“Huh.”

“Yes, you can get out of my sight and go home.” Yuki glowered at him, “especially if you’re just going to complain. You’re making Honda-san feel bad.”

Kyo’s expression immediately softens, turning to look at Tohru. The brunette girl panics, waving her hands around frantically.

“It’s ok, Kyo-kun! I’m sure we’re all just a little tired from climbing up for so long. Should we take a rest here? I have some food in my bag, we can have a small picnic!”

She moves off to the side, sitting down as she opened her bag to reveal a stash of goodies. She calmly hands out a small bunch to all of her friends, giving Kyo just a tiny bit more to settle his growling hunger. He took the treats silently, mumbling a quiet apology.

Tohru smiles as she watches her friends huddle around together, chatting animatedly as if they hadn’t been short of breath from walking just moments before. She laughs along at their antics, wishing they could stay like this forever.

After taking a few moments to satiate their hunger and recuperate, they continued trudging up the mountainous stairway, more content than before. With their moods lifted, they had no complaints and soon enough, they noticed a dim light in the distance. 

“Looks like we have finally arrived,” Hanajima stated, watching as Tohru bounced happily, clapping her hands together.

They hurried over towards the brightness, and once they arrived, they approached the door in front of them.

“You think there’s a contraption this time?” Hatori asked, observing the door.

“I don’t think so,” Momiji shakes his head, reaching out towards the door before being stopped by Hatsuharu once again. 

“Too dangerous,” he said simply, “Let Tohru open the door as the Messiah.”

All eyes once again turn back to Tohru, and she nods back at them, taking her place front and center of the door.

Tohru reached out, hesitantly opening the door, the loud creaking of the wood sending chills down her spine. As it opened, a bright glow emitted from the chamber within. There, in the center of the room, was the first blessing.

“We found it,” Uotani mumbled, surprised. Despite the journey here and confirming the existence of the tower, she did not really expect there to be mystical blessings sitting around in the tower. Why weren’t they robbed yet?

“We did!” Tohru exclaims, interrupting her train of thought. However, before her hands managed to touch the glowing light, Hatori’s hands made contact with the blessing, the glow seeping into him. 

“H-Hatori-san?” She blurted out questioningly, turning to face him in her confusion.

What she saw brought out an emotion she hadn’t felt in years - fear.

The man they called their village chief looked almost psychotic to her, staring at his hands with bloodshot eyes as he laughed, the blue aura enveloping itself around him.

“We share our everything,” he simply stated, giving her a smirk before a huge force pushed the group backwards, the stone walls closing around the wooden door, blocking the path in.

Tohru stared up at the spot were the door used to be in a daze, seemingly still unable to comprehend what had just happened.

“What...Hatori-san?” She sputtered out his name again, before her eyes widened. She scrambled to her feet, clawing at the wall.

“We need to get Hatori-san out of there!” She told her friends, looking for something, anything to release Hatori from the wall’s confinement.

“He’s left us,” Hatsuharu told her simply, voice monotone.

“If we just-” Tohru started, turning around. However, she quickly paused as she noticed a...strange atmosphere.

All her friends seem to be glaring at each other, as if fighting for something. Even Momiji, who was the happiest of the bunch, seemed determined, staring at the others with an expression that screamed of competition.

“Well then, looks like we can’t get this blessing anymore, shall we head for the next one~?” Shigure asked, opening his fan such that it covered the lower half of his face. Even with that though, she could tell that his expression had grown slightly darker, his grip on the fan ever so slightly tighter.

The walk to the next door was filled with deafening silence, with eight of her friends that still seemed to be glaring at each other. Tohru tried started up some light conversation, but she only received the very occasional reply from Shigure or Kyo, while the rest kept their eyes forward, not wanting to miss the next door.

The minute they caught sight of a symbol, the ones in front charged forward, Tohru being pushed to the sight in the scuffle. Kyo caught hold of her, keeping her upright as they watched their friends practically pry the next door open.

The first one in this time was Hatsuharu, who immediately unsheathed his sword the first moment he could, pointing the sharpened edge at the others.

“Not another step. I’ll cut you,” he announced, eyes resolute. He was completely serious.

Keeping his sword aimed at them, he lifted his other hand out to the podium, allowing the second blessing into him. The glow of red eyes was the last thing Tohru saw before the invisible force struck again, pushing them out of the small chamber.

“Tch, not again,” she heard a voice spit from behind her before hearing the clicking of shoes hurrying down the hall.

“Uo-chan, wait!” Tohru called out to her friend, but it was no use. Everyone knew that Uotani was the fastest runner of them all and with her having a head start, there was no way they would catch up to her.

The last thing they saw was her giving them a small salute before the brightness of the blessing blinded them, obstructing their view before the stone walls even closed in.

“Uotani…” Hanajima muttered uncharacteristically, before charging off herself. She, in comparison to Uotani, was extremely slow, but her determination seemed to overcome that, running up the stairs and bursting into the fourth room. The room was pitch dark, and the stone walls closed too fast for anyone else to even catch a final glimpse of Hanajima. The only thing that indicated she had made it in was a series of eerie giggles that were undoubtedly that of the girl’s voice.

Tohru panted as she caught her breath from storming up the stairs. She couldn’t believe that in such a short time, four of her friends that had promised to be there for her - for their whole town - had just betrayed them, taking nearly half the blessings for themselves.

The others that were left behind all seemed to be in various states of emotions - anger, disbelief.. even jealousy? - and she herself was in complete disarray. She could not fathom the thought of her friends, the ones who had supported her for almost the entirety of her life, betraying her (or anyone) like this. Was there a curse placed upon this tower? If so, surely it would have affected her as well. She crossed that option out. Had the temptation of the blessings gotten the best of them?

“I have to keep the others safe,” she muttered to herself, clenching her fist tightly. Taking in a deep breath, she released it, clapping her hands together as she smiled again, turning to the remainder of her friends.

“Let’s continue, guys! I’m sure once we get the rest of the blessings, we’ll be able to save the world. Then we can all go back home together!”

“Tohru-kun’s right everyone,” said Shigure, for once agreeing with Tohru since they had stepped foot into the tower. “Being at each other’s throats like this isn’t good.”

Tohru nods enthusiastically, happy to have some support.

“But Tohru-kun,” Shigure adds after a moment’s pause, “We did agree to share everything with one another.”

He took one leisurely step, and another, and another, and all Tohru could do was look on in sadness as Shigure spoke once more.

“That’s why we’re sharing the blessings evenly among us,” He announced proudly, calmly stepping foot into the fifth chamber. His calm tone served to unnerve her far more than the others, as if he was merely talking about what she should make for breakfast instead of the possible destruction of the world.

“But Shigure-san, why?” Tohru continues trying. She didn’t want to believe, just COULDN’T believe that the people she called her family would do this. She stepped forward, grabbing hold of his arm as she looked up at the man. Her eyes pleaded with him, praying and praying that he would not give in to the temptation of the blessing in front of him.

A quick shove gave her his final answer, leaving her to bite her lip in despair as she heard the familiar, eerie sound of her family leaving her behind, his prayer still ringing in her ears.

Ayame soon followed after his two closest friends, reciting a childhood poem as he did so. Not much was said by the remnants at this time, the ones left being some of the youngest of the group.

Even Tohru, the group’s sunshine, the happiest girl of them all was walking with her head down, something the others had never seen before. They watched her silently, looking straight ahead. Just three more blessings, and it was all over.

When they reached the next blessing, Momiji walked up to Tohru. 

“Tohru,” he starts, lifting up his hands into his dancing position, “I love you, Tohru. You’re one of my closest friends.” 

Momiji then moved one, two, and three steps. Left, right, backwards spin. He danced and danced until his eyes glowed a bright green, and he finally put his hands in rest position as the walls slid shut.

Tohru watched the walls blankly as his words echoed in her mind and she replayed his dance over and over in her head. Too much had happened and she had no time to process the turn of events since they entered the tower. Her emotions were in turmoil. She felt waves of overwhelming sadness, bitterness, anger, resentment and now, nothing. She had become numb to the excruciating pain of losing those she loved as they fell to the tower one by one.

Then they were left with three. The lost little girl, and the two who had brought her into the light. 

She thought about how ironic it was that those same friends who lit up her world had brought her a darkness that she had never experienced even when she was alone. For once in her life, she felt a sense of regret; regret for meeting her friends, regret in trusting anyone other than her Mother.

She nearly slapped herself as she realised what she was thinking.

No! She could not think like that! If it wasn’t for them, she might have been out in the forests, starving and attacking any human or animal on sight just to have some meat to relieve her of her hunger. Drinking water from the worst of places to satiate her thirst. Or even worse, she could’ve been long since dead.

Till her last dying breath, she wanted to believe in her friends.

Still, it was hard for her soul to not be crushed once again as Yuki blocked the entrance to the next blessing, pushing Kyo out of the way with trembling hands.

“You think I’ll let you get your hands on a blessing first?” Yuki huffs, glaring at Kyo smugly, “Looks like I win again, Kyo.”

It was the first time Tohru had seen Yuki look as happy as he did, tears of joy freezing against his face as a thick wall of ice formed in between them.

“Damn it!” Kyo cursed out, punching at the wall to no avail.

“K-Kyo-Kun...” She falls his name softly, shaking her head. She couldn’t take it anymore, not her last friend here. Not Kyo.

‘“Tohru.” He looked at her, her chestnut hair, her crestfallen eyes, her lost expression. He wanted to save her, just like that day in the forest. He reaches out to her, but as he remembers what the others had told him about her, he draws back. He gritted his teeth and bolted, faster than any of the others before him. Chasing sprinting sheep was his specialty, after all. Rushing up a flight of stairs was the least of his running challenges.

“No!” He hears behind him, Tohru stumbling up the steps to catch up to him. He remembers this scenario in their childhood, her following him around like a lost puppy. Unlike then though, he couldn’t afford to have her catch up. He sped up even more, willing himself to not respond as he heard her trip on a step in the flight of steps.

Clumsy as ever.

He feels the heat and smiles. It’s the last blessing! He can hear Tohru’s cries rounding the corner and turns back around for the first and last time. He gives her a proud smile, before rushing in, the flames enveloping the room. By the time Tohru makes it, she is met with nothing but the scorched ground, all traces of Kyo nowhere to be found.

Tohru crumpled to the floor at a loss. That was it - nine blessings and nine friends, all taken from her. She wanted the world for everyone, but she had lost her own little world. 

Was this supposed to happen? Why did this have to happen? Was it so wrong to want the best for the world? What did I do to deserve this?

Questions assaulted her one after the other, giving her no time to breathe. She felt like she was drowning and there was no one there to pull her out. But what was the point of resisting if there was no one left to live for. 

With a distressed wail, she continued on her way up the last of the steps, her cries echoing horrifyingly against the walls. There was nowhere left to go so she kept going forward, trying not to think and blocking out all the noise in her head. 

All seemed hopeless now, but as she ascended the final steps, her eyes widened as she caught sight of what lay before her.

“Faithful Messiah  
Having collected the nine punishments,  
Stand before the pedestal as atonement.”

Tohru glances around in horror as she notes the statues standing around in a circle; she notices the blessings engraved before them, and the suffering of the people depicted. Drowning in the ocean, engorged in hellfire, torn by pieces through a thunderous hurricane, frozen right through the heart… was this the fate of her friends? And… messiah… collected the punishments?

And then the truth dawned on her. Her friends did not abandon her, rather they saved her! They saved her from suffering all of the punishments alone as they climbed the tower, and instead took all of the damage on themselves. 

‘We share our everything.’ That quote that she believed had been said in greed that day, was actually a facade put on by her friends; to protect her from harm, to protect her from the truth of their plan.

She grasped the torch before her, using the last of her strength to remove it from its perch. As she did so, she notices the red liquid pouring out from the nine statues. From their mouths, eyes - each one was different - and she shivered. She knew that it as not blood; not her friends’ blood, at least. Nevertheless, it brought back the memories of the past day for her. Her friends’ final acts, meant to deceive her in the kindest way possible. They probably wanted her to hate them for it, to be kept in the dark so that she could save the world without being held back by them. She couldn’t though, not when they had sacrificed everything for her.

Holding up the torch, she aimed it up at the sky, reciting the spell written on the pedestal. As if summoned by her spell, the sky above her turns dark, grey clouds rolling in by the dozens. At the centre of it all, she spots a ghostly figure forming, and a wisp of smoke formed the silhouette of a hand, reaching out towards her. Smiling sadly to herself, she reaches a free hand out to it, tears brimming at the side of her eyes.

She is lifted up by the figure, the smoke circling her, covering her whole. It spins quick as a tornado, slowly turning into a bright, white light. Finally, the ball of light exploded, filling the sky with its brightness and creating a shower of sparks, raining down on the top of the tower and washing away all that had occurred, the torch back on its perch and the red liquid of the statues dried up, all in place for the next Messiah.


End file.
